e made $10k last month. $7k was from custom consulting, not our software.

When we launched our SaaS, the vision was simple: build a product, charge a monthly subscription, and scale infinitely. We wanted that sweet, sweet recurring revenue.

But we hit a wall early on. Our product is complex, and users kept asking, "Can you just set this up for us?" or "Can you build a custom integration for our specific workflow?" Because we were desperate for cash, we said yes to everyone.

I just finished our monthly financial review, and it was a massive reality check:

• Total Revenue: $10,000

• Software Subscriptions: $3,000 (from 60 users)

• Custom Consulting & Setup Fees: $7,000 (from just 4 clients)

On paper, we had our first five-figure month. In reality, my co-founder and I spent 80% of our time on Zoom calls doing manual data migrations and building custom scripts for those four clients. We haven't shipped a single new feature to our actual software in three months.

I realized we aren't a SaaS company anymore. We are a highly paid freelance agency with a side project. The worst part? We are terrified to say no to the consulting money because it pays the bills, but we know it's a trap. It doesn't scale, it's exhausting, and if those four clients leave, our business is dead.

For founders who have fallen into this: How did you transition from a "services-first" mindset to a true product-led SaaS?

Did you start charging an onboarding fee to filter out the bad clients? Did you just rip the band-aid off and say "no more custom work"? I need to figure out how to break this cycle without bankrupting the company.